Blog: Pete Loshin

« Bill Gates Gets Special Treatment by IRS | Main | What Would YOU Pay to Link to a News Story? »

Security Outrage and an Easy Answer

OK, so Microsoft apparently isn't going to be releasing a patch to the world until February 14 for the Kama Sutra/Blackworm/MyWife worm. Super, unless your time machine is in the shop, since that particular bit of malware is scheduled to strike on Friday. Here's Microsoft's security advisory on the worm. According to the summary posted on Slashdot, Microsoft customers who pony up for premium services can get the fix before the worm hits, but otherwise you're out of luck.

Easiest solution? Get yourself a current Linux distribution, install it, and access your important data with no problems tomorrow. It would be best if you could install Linux on a fresh hard drive, and then copy your data over from your old corrupted (with Windows) hard drive, but chances are good you can create a Linux partition that coexists with your Windows partition if you pay attention during the installation.

Alternatively, you could change the way your system boots through your BIOS, so you can boot to a clean and virus-free CD, and then do what you need to protect your data on your hard drive.

I found this whole little story amusing and interesting, but I dug up an even more outrageous bit in the original news story Slashdot linked to. Stay tuned; I've got to run but will be back later on this afternoon to write it up.

Share: